A new era of live music kicked off in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on Monday, May 18. The crowd was ready, the artists were thrilled, but no one could ignore the elephant in the room.
Everyone asking when America would see live music return caught a glimpse of what the immediate future holds Monday night, May 18, when Bishop Gunn frontman Travis McCready hit the stage at TempleLive in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Hailed as the first “socially distant” concert, the performance welcomed a tiny crowd into a massive space with new rules put in place to keep everyone safe from COVID-19.
The capacity for the TempleLive performance was 229, a fraction of the venue’s standard 1000. Though its unclear how many tickets were sold, photos and videos of the event reveal people scattered throughout the site in what Ticketmaster is calling “fan pods.” The concept, which is likely to gain popularity in the months ahead, allows consumers to purchase enough tickets to sit with friends without allowing other attendees to sit too close.
Other new ideas implemented for the event included temperature checks for all attendees, limits on bathroom occupancy, and the placement of twenty-five sanitation stations throughout the venue.
In our latest Music Biz News update, host James Shotwell takes us inside TempleLive in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to learn how the event came together, what it looked like, and we may lie ahead for the future of live music.
Until there is a vaccine for coronavirus that is widely available to the general public we will likely see more “socially distant” concerts taking place. Whether or not they look like this event is anybody’s guess. Hosting live music in the age of COVID is an experiment, and anyone attending is a test subject. Rules and regulations will shift as needed to ensure the safety and comfort of the crowd. If that doesn’t feel safe to you, go ahead and stay home. Music is resilient. The concerts you dream of will inevitably return. We’re just not sure when that will happen.
